The report has no factual basis and deliberately misrepresents the meeting between President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and ICC Chairman Jay Shah at the Presidential Secretariat. The President and the ICC Chairman publicly confirmed on X that the discussion covered cricket development, grassroots and youth programmes, and expanding opportunities for young players, not ultimatums, blacklisting threats, or election demands.
No such ultimatum was issued. The fabricated narrative further undermines the newspaper's credibility at a time when readers have direct access to verifiable official statements from both President Dissanayake and Chairman Jay Shah.
The Government urges the Daily Mirror to prominently publish this response and immediately retract the story in both print and online versions.
